Live Review: Smashing Pumpkins (6-26-2007) The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
Photos by Jill Donnelly
Before i go into my review of the show, i think I’ll give you my perspective on the band. In a time period where old bands seem to reunite every hour, one of the most important reunions in a while clearly seems to be the Smashing Pumpkins, despite only two of the original members being part of it. The ascension of the Pumpkins in the middle ’90s represent a high water mark for the last golden age of pop music and underground music peacefully coexisting together. After dominating the Billboard charts, the Grammys, and the MTV music awards with Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness, they were probably the last “biggest band in the world” to really exist. As a teen at the time, The Pumpkins represented everything I loved about the ’90s music scene. I had to purchase Siamese Dream several times due to playing the tape so much it would get ruined. Mellon Collie is inextirpably linked to almost all of my memories of the summer of 1996, one of the best summers of my life. But midway through that summer, with the overdose of their touring keyboardist and the subsequencial kicking out Jimmy Chamberlain from the band would mark the beginning of the end of not only the Smashing Pumpkins, but also the end of an era in music. I can remember being so angry about them kicking Jimmy out of the band. I mean you’re in a rock band, you’re supposed to be doing drugs! That combined with the release of Adore, which to this day I still don’t really like (I mean Kid A is the same idea, only 1000 times better), officially ended my fanboy days with the Pumpkins.
So, after waiting a few years worth of reunion rumours and the lame ticket buying experience, i finally got to see a band i loved as a kid in a tiny 1000 person venue just an arms length from Billy Corgan. We got to the venue probably around 3pm in the afternoon and there were only about 50 people in line in front of us. I think this wait would technically be longer than what i waited to get up close for Radiohead at Bonnaroo last year but at least in line here you could purchase beers and food easily and get out of line to use the restroom so it wasn’t that bad. The opening band was pretty good even though they were not my style (although I wish i went one of the nights Deerhunter was opening). The Pumpkins came out next and rocked out for three hours. Billy Corgan was very much the star of the show and even if this is completely the case musically, the dynamic just seems unbalanced without James Iha’s stage presence. The Faux-Iha replacement, Jeff Schroeder, played his part brilliantly from a musical perspective, though. Very “shoegazy” jamming stuff that I enjoyed alot. The Faux-D’arcy, Ginger Reyes, looked like she could have fallen apart at any second. She held her own, but it was very entertaining to watch her constantly watch Billy and Jimmy looking so scared. They even brought along a Faux-overdosed tour keyboardist.
Overall, the show was really great, but I think it was lacking a little to my high expectations. Mostly because I didn’t really know but a handful of songs. This usually doesn’t deter me from enjoying a band, but it did seem to a little this time and as i think about it I’m still not quite sure why since most everything i didn’t recognize i enjoyed a lot. I think maybe there is just a clear difference between the old stuff and post-Mellon Collie Billy Corgan stuff. Also, I don’t think it really detracted from the music at all, but there was something lacking in my mind without at least James in the band. Regardless of my own critical thinking getting in the way, i highly recommend checking them out somewhere along what I’m guessing will be an endless amount of touring (hey, i asked for it) and I’m excited to hear the new album that came out today.
See the setlist, listen/download the show here (Thanks to Chud for pointing this out)
You can find an endless amount of info on the Asheville residency at Smasheville
- Posted by Davy Minor on July 10, 2007 at 1:46 pm
